Are you smarter than a jr. high student?

[Don]

This is a scene I saw from a manga from a long time ago. You, as the typical jr. high kid of manga-land, have the special power to accelerate human metabolism that got sent back in time about 2000 years ago. Your friend has been wounded by a poisonous arrow. While people in the past would probably die to such a situation, the kid from the future is armed with modern science knowledge and uses his special powers to cure the unknown poison. While according to him, any jr. high kid could've figured this out if they were in his shoes with the same powers, it sure wasn't obvious to me what to do until it was explained. I always figured that Japanese fictional jr. high kids are just really smart, but I'm curious if a normal person can figure out what to do in this case.

The solution is not a trick question and does not involve any further supernatural powers beyond what the kid already has.

[SineSwiper]

Well, gee, what does any adult do in that situation? It usually doesn't involve fancy science. When somebody gets bit by a snake, they tied something around the leg to slow the flow of blood and go to the hospital, where they inject them with an antidote and treat any damaged areas, etc.

If you don't have that, I figure that you would make something to suck the blood out of the wound.

[Flip]

If you don't have that, I figure that you would make something to suck the blood out of the wound.

That was my first thought, but a poison arrow? Totally different.

[Lox]

You put them out of their misery with a large rock to the head.

[Don]

The correct thing to do is enhance the liver functions of the wounded so that his body can detoxify the poison.

I guess the average fictional kid in Japan is a lot smarter than all of us. Then again I figure this guy is supposed to be like the Japanese version of MacGyver whose intelligence is probably on par with L.

[Kupek]

It's not obvious from the description that we can do that - be selective what metabolic functions we increase. Increasing the whole body's metabolism would result in a quicker death, so I disregarded that.

[Don]

Well it is fictional so the author makes up the power as he goes, but the whole thing works because any person armed with modern knowledge is supposed to know that the liver breaks down toxic substances and be able to logically figure out what to do in this case. It is not clear to me at all that a random kid could have easily figured this out. If it is obvious it's about as obvious as Sherlock Holmes's deductions are elementary. Since the hero in question can also rain down destruction ala DBZ style, I sort of assumed he's supposed to be a super genius, but I'm curious if there's any validity to the argument 'any kid could've figured this out' that the story claims.

[Flip]

Well, i guess if you could speed up human metabolism, or specific human body functions, you WOULD know this stuff. I'd research the hell out of my ability until i near expert no matter what age.

[Kupek]

I think it's more a question of problem solving skills than knowledge. I think a bright Jr. High kid might be able to make the connections, but I doubt most would.

And for the record, Flip, I doubt most 12-15 year-olds would spend the time to learn all about their ability on their own.

[Don]

I always thought the idea was this guy was like a Japanese version of MacGyver (who can also throw fireballs if needed). But there's obviously nothing ordinary about a guy like MacGyver but like most manga the hero of this story is a strictly average Japanese kid and the whole idea is that anybody could've done all this stuff if they got tossed back in time for 2000 years thanks to modern science/knowledge.

I don't know what it is with Japanese manga, but they seem to come off very snobbish and elitist when they pull one of these 'elementary my dear Watson' moment. I read Sherlock Holmes before and there's nothing insulting when Sherlock Holmes says that because it's obvious that he's way smarter than anyone else so what's obvious to him is very complicated to everyone else. It realy doesn't matter what the subject is. Anything that's *obvious* is always surely something super convoluted that barely makes sense, and yet it makes total sense to guys who are supposed to be roughly as smart as an average person. In general it seems like the Japanese authors are very poor are expressing super human intellect/know-hows.

[Sephy]

It's not obvious from the description that we can do that - be selective what metabolic functions we increase. Increasing the whole body's metabolism would result in a quicker death, so I disregarded that.

Not exactly. Likely said poison would need to diffuse into tissue, and then need to spend time there to exert its effects. An increased metabolism would speed breakdown, and make it unable to diffuse into tissue.

[Kupek]

But wouldn't it also be spread throughout the body faster due to higher heart rate and blood pressure? I know that for a poisonous bite, that's what happens.

[Don]

Well the situation is entirely hypothetical dealing with hypothetical powers so I don't think it's too meaningful to debate what is exactly supposed to happen. My point is just that, at least for me, I don't think I would have been able to come up with this solution if I was in the same shoes with the same hypothetical powers. Regardless of whether this solution really works or not, I don't think I'd have thought of the fact that the liver detoxifies poisons and applied it, even though I do know that. The application of such knowledge seems to require a very extraordinary individual to pull off even if the knowledge isn't hard to get.

I was reading on MacGyver solutions are tested on Mythbuster and some of them are found to not work. But whether the solutions work or not, it is pretty difficult for an average person to come up with them in the first place. For example there's one where he tried to make a glider out of bamboo. That was found to not work (it'd just plummet) but I don't think most people would even be able to think of something like that in the first place.

[EsquE]

I always thought the idea was this guy was like a Japanese version of MacGyver (who can also throw fireballs if needed).

Jr. High? I just know I'd be way too busy throwing fireballs in people's faces to actually read up on specific metabolic functions.

And I really don't recall my biology classes at that point in time being specific enough to help me out in a situation like that. But then again, I went to catholic school...I probably would have just prayed for him and watched him die.